ERIC Number: EJ1172596
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Mar
Pages: 8
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-8148
EISSN: N/A
Plastic Pollution to Solution
Kitagawa, Laura; Pomba, Elizabeth; Davis, Tina
Science and Children, v55 n7 p38-45 Mar 2018
Makerspaces have become very popular in education because they "provide hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build, and invent as they deeply engage in science, engineering, and tinkering" (Cooper 2013). Not only do makerspaces provide a safe learning environment for students to develop their 21st century skills of critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration, they also promote the idea of "moving from consumption to creation and turning knowledge into action" (Fleming 2015, p. 7). A private preK-8 school in Silicon Valley (CA) opened its first official makerspace, the Imaginarium in 2016. The authors, who are teachers who work with second-grade students, were inspired to create a cross-curricular Project Based Learning (PBL) unit that would utilize the new makerspace and encourage students to apply their STEM skills to become responsible, productive citizens. The eco-friendly unit about ocean plastic pollution targeted several national science standards. This article describes the creation and implementation of the program.
Descriptors: Pollution, Science Instruction, Student Projects, Active Learning, Teaching Methods, STEM Education, Units of Study, Plastics, Program Implementation, Grade 2, Elementary School Teachers
National Science Teachers Association. 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3000. Tel: 800-722-6782; Fax: 703-243-3924; e-mail: membership@nsta.org; Web site: http://www.nsta.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Grade 2
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A